Sunday, 6 April 2014

The BGM-71 TOW, a new weapon on the Syrian battlefield

By Stijn Mitzer and Joost Oliemans

Footage published on the 5th of April 2014 shows a new type of weapon in the rebels' arsenal: The BGM-71 TOW anti-tank missile.

The TOW is seen being operated by Harakat Hazm, which 'surprisingly' is also suddenly operating MANPADS. Harakat Hazm is loyal to Salim Idris and consists of mostly ex-Kataib Farouq members. The footage was shot near Heesh, Idlib Governorate and can be found here, here, here, here and here.

Alwiya wa Kataib Al-Shaheed Ahmed al-Abdo was also seen operating the missile, footage of which can be found here, here and here. The missile in hands of the Syrian Revolutionaries Front in Dara'a, can be seen here and here. The missile in the hands of Liwa al-Aadiyat, fighting on the Lattakia front, can be seen here.

The TOW is probably the most popular anti-tank missile used in the region, which makes tracking the source of these missiles, without the help of serial numbers, hard. Most likely, the TOWs were and still are supplied to the rebels from Saudi Arabia. A transfer which had to be approved by the Obama administration.

These videos will likely mark the start of a new anti-tank missile offensive, as seen with the foreign supplied Konkurs and HJ-8s.